To be fair to Google, the firm admitted defeat when Google Glass didn't take off, and that's not something every tech firm would do; companies are a dime a dozen who simply keep running with a bad idea out of some kind of foolish pride. But although that particular device just didn't work out with consumers, the rise in interest in VR has given Google plenty of reason to continue with designing a headset device. And that's where Google Daydream View comes in.
Let's face it, geeks like us have been drooling over the prospect of VR gaming experiences since Tron, Star Trek's Holodeck, and Lawnmower Man, to name but a few of the sci-fi pop culture landmarks which got us all thinking about the logical next-step in immersion. It's only taken us a few decades to get there, but better late than never, right?
VR - Virtual Reality- definitely IS the next big thing, and that's not just a bunch of tech firms, their PRs, and optimistic analysts talking this time - no, the evidence is there in the actual consumer uptake of devices already on the market. Just look at the success of Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and Samsung Gear VR. People want VR, people are CRAVING it.
AR/VR is tipped as the new GROWTH technology for the coming years. Hence the spiked interest from all of tech's biggest players.
Worldwide revenues for the AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) markets will grow from $5.2 billion in 2016 to around $162 billion in 2020 – a compound growth of 181.3% over the 2015-2020 forecast period, according to IDC.
"For many years augmented and virtual reality were the stuff of science fiction. Now with powerful smartphones powering inexpensive VR headsets, the consumer market is primed for new paid and user generated content-driven experiences. Recent developments in healthcare demonstrated the powerful impact augmented reality headsets can have at the industry level, and over the next five years we expect to see that promise become realized in other fields like education, logistics, and manufacturing," Chris Chute, vice president, Customer Insights and Analysis.
"The rise of new, less expensive hardware will put virtual and augmented reality technology within the grasp of a growing numbers of companies and individuals," said Tom Mainelli, vice president, Devices & AR/VR. "But, as always, what people can do with that hardware will depend upon the applications and services that power it. In the coming years, we expect developers to create a wide range of new experiences for these devices that will fundamentally change the way many of us do work."
As of December 1, you can now order the Google Daydream View in two new colour variants - well, we say new, they were unveiled with the device's announcement, but to date the headset has only been available in one colour; a grey tone called "Slate". Now though, you can pick up "Snow" (white) and "Crimson" colour variants for something a bit more fancy, and appropriately timed for Christmas too. These will be pre-orders which will ship on December 8, and there's no difference in price from the Slate colour either; they all cost the same amount of cash.
Google Daydream View Review: Google Daydream Platform
Location & Exploration- Google Street View
- NYT VR (New York Times Virtual Reality)
- WSJ
- CNN
- US Today VR Stories
- Google Photos
- The Guardian
- Ocean Rift
- Hello Mars
- Relax VR
- YouTube
- Hulu
- Google Play Movies & TV
- HBO Now
- Netflix
- Jaunt
- Invasion!
- Wonderglade
- Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
- Danger Goat
- Gunjack 2: End Of Shift
- EarthShape
- Mekorama
- Need for Speed: No Limits
- Hungry Shark World
- Hunters
- Action Bowling
- VR Karts Sprint
- The Arcslinger
- Home Run Derby
- Archer E. Bowman
- Underworld Overlord
- Affected
- Cosmic Chef
- Daydream Blue
- DRIFT
- Classroom Aquatic
- Claro
- Layers Of Fear
- Loco Motors
- Poly Runner
- Frostbound
- Sisters
- Avakin Life
- Baskhead
- Orbital Loop
- Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes
- LEGO BrickHeadz Builder VR
- HBO NOW and HBO GO
- Gunjack 2: End of Shift
- NextVR
- Layers of Fear: Solitude
- Wands
- Underworld Overlord
- Netflix
- Need for Speed™ No Limits VR
Google Daydream View Review: The ExperienceGoogle Daydream View Review: The Remote
Google Daydream View Review: The VerdictHere's Where You Can Now Buy Google DayDream View: - United States: Google Store, Verizon, Best Buy; $79 (USD)
- Canada: Google Store, Bell, Rogers, Telus, Best Buy; $99 (CAD)
- United Kingdom: Google Store, EE, Carphone Warehouse; £69 (GBP)
- Germany: Google Store, Deutsche Telekom; €69 (EUR)
- Australia: Google Store, JB Hi-Fi; $119 (AUD); Coming to Telstra on Nov 22nd
On January 26, word has emerged which has us more than a little excited for the future of the Daydream View and Google's Daydream project as a whole. News has reached our ears that Claude Zellweger, who was teh senior designer on the HTC Vive VR headset project, has now made a career move to Google's Daydream VR project. When you consider how much ASS the HTC Vive as kicked since its launch - it is pretty much the lead device in the VR space at this point - that's a pretty exciting prospect to have the same person leading Google's own efforts.
HTC itself confirmed Zellweger's departure and said that it hugely appreciated his contributions to the Vive project.
On the same day, Google also revealed it has now opened up the Daydream VR platform to ALL developers, meaning anyone in the world can make VR content for the platform. It's highly likely this will mean Google's vast following of Android app developers can now be tapped for innovative and interesting new titles!
Developers will still need to meet a set list of requirements in order to produce content for the new ecosystem, but to be fair that's always been the case with Android as well, and that hasn't stopped people from getting involved. Google emphasises a need for VR apps to be "high quality", adding that poorly designed content and performance issues can cause users to "feel nauseated". They must also be compatible with the Daydream controller.
So how is Google Daydream View? Let’s find out shall we…
The design, look and feel of Google’s Daydream View is its first big USP. Unlike every other VR headset on the market, Daydream View is made almost entirely from cloth, just like clothing, and, as a result, is very comfortable to where for long periods of time.
The design itself is fairly conservative. It’s smart, lightweight and simple to set up with well-placed features like a neat elasticated hook to hold the phone tray closed and a storage clip inside the viewer for holding the remote when its not in use. Everything is very well thought out and logical.
How it fits on your head is always going to be subjective to the user, as every head shape is different. My girlfriend found it sat perfectly on her head, for instance, but on my head it rested funny, as the strap placement, its attached to the top of the unit, made the bottom kick outwards slight which in turn meant I had to push it down with my hand to get a fully immersive view.
The actual setup is super simple: just download the Daydream View application on your phone, select it and pop the handset inside the Daydream View headset and you’re quite literally away. Once inside Daydream View, you’re guided through a series of instructional demos on how to use the remote, navigate around Daydream View, and the types of things you can do whilst in there from playing games, to watching movies via Play Movies and video clips from YouTube.
It all feels very immersive once you’re in there and you’ve gotten used to using the control to point at things and select stuff. It is rather disorienting at first, especially if you have an attention hungry dog in the house, but after a few minutes it all starts to feel very immersive. Impressive, almost. You can see the potential for what’s in store here. It’s no way a finished product just yet, but you immediately feel that one day, in the not too distant future, it almost certainly will be.
Google has now taken the Amazon-route with its Daydream VR platform and opened it up to third-party developers. This will guarantee an influx of applications, new features and brand new things you can do with the headset.
Google deliberately kept developer access limited at launch in order to ensure high-quality applications at launch. Now that Google’s VR platform is a bit older and more mature, The Big G has finally relaxed access, opening up a lot more potential inside the platform.
"Daydream aims to provide users with high-quality, interactive, VR experiences. Designing apps for VR is substantially different than for other platforms, particularly because poorly designed applications or performance issues can make some users feel nauseated," Google said on its app quality requirements page.
Adoption of Google Daydream View headsets has been relatively slow thus far; though this is likely down to limited handset support. Google has shipped around 261,000 units to date (a tiny amount compared to Sony’s 745,000 PS4 VR shipments).
However, as more Android handsets gets DayDream support (most 2017 releases will carry it), adoption levels should increase. Daydream View is just about the cheapest solution of its kind available right now.
The Daydream platform itself looks nice enough; its an outdoor, woodland setting complete with animals, mountains and rivers. It’s pleasant enough, but you can see add-ons coming in the future that will allow the user to download other environments. The scope’s pretty big here and I think Google would be amiss not to allow this to happen.
Interacting with content is simple; everything is laid out in a grid-like menu on the screen. To access something, say, Google Play Movies, simply point at it with the remote and select. Everything loads fairly quickly, though Google advises you have a very strong internet connection when using Daydream View for an optimum experience.
Google has support for YouTube, Google Play Movies and a bunch of games – none of which are very good – at launch. The Play Movies app is decent enough with a decent selection of content. Ditto YouTube. However none of it is quite there yet; it all feels very beta… more like a demo of what’s possible than an actual selection of proper content. This “beta feeling” exists throughout the Daydream platform. You can see and feel the potential, but it’s not quite there yet.
The future does look a lot better though, as Google – according to its launch materials – has quite a bit of new content lined-up for the coming months.
Google has partnered with a wide range of brands to give Daydream adopters a fairly impressive starting catalogue of apps, games, and services, including HBO, Netflix, Hulu, WSJ, EA, and others. Naturally, at present the only people who will be accessing this content are those who've purchased a Pixel or Pixel XL and a Daydream View headset, but Google's plans for Daydream will allow for Android OEMs to make compatible smartphone handsets going forward - we'd take a guess saying probably headsets too.
Amongst the services offered there are exploration and location-based applications, including tooled-up version of Google Maps/Street View, and Google Photos, while Hello Mars and Ocean Rift offer quite different location-based experiences. There are also 30 VR-ready games, some of which are re-jigged ones from the Android space, such as Need For Speed: No Limits, while others are purpose-built VR games like Daydream Blue and film tie-in J.K Rowling's Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
Here's a bullet-pointed list of all titles announced so far (via PhoneArena):
You can also learn more via Google's dedicated page.
Google is pushing hard with its Daydream View platform and, just this week, confirmed a couple of new phones that are fully optimised for use with its Daydream View headset.
The Moto Z and Moto Z Force have been added to the roster of Daydream View-compatible handsets, joining Google’s own Pixel and Pixel XL handsets.
Content and games for the platform were always going to be a little limited at launch, but Google is quickly attempting to remedy that with the addition of quite a few new apps and games for Daydream View, which include:
Google has enough content to sort this out relatively quickly but it will need help from developers to make Daydream a complete platform. It needs killer apps and content, something new and unique that you cannot get anywhere else… Novelty is great but truly great and innovative products need actual utility; they need to offer experiences you simply cannot get or replicate any where else.
Whether Google can do this with its phone-lead VR remains to be seen. The more expensive HTC VIVE is far more impressive than Google’s Daydream View, both visually and in how it works and functions. The VIVE needs a TON of power to get it working and is, at its core, a very different product to Daydream View but HTC appears to understand what VR should look and feel like better than Google at present.
The biggest gripe for me is that the visual experience just isn't there yet; everything is pixilated and unclear – like pre-720p, unclear. In order to make the experience fully immersive, VR needs to be fully HD. Everybody is used to Full HD on their phones and TVS and PCs, so asking people to make a concession for VR which, in its very essence, puts you closer to the action itself is kind of a big issue for me at present.
This is why 4K phones are coming. VR needs better resolution if it is to be fully immersive. The other option, as with VIVE, is to make a headset that pairs with a phone wirelessly and connects to a VR headset with a HD panel. I get why Google wants to use phones inside the VR headset itself, but I definitely feel that, even with QHD panels like you get inside the Pixel XL, the visual quality just isn’t there. No one likes looking at grainy, pixel-laden images – it gives you a headache.
If I owned a company that was heavily invested in VR I would almost certainly look at options for wirelessly sending the phone content to a display housed inside the VR headset. It’d probably cost more, but I feel like this would make for a better, more lightweight VR headset in the long run.
My first experience with VR was with Samsung’s GEAR VR. That unit did not come with a remote. Instead you had to blindly tap the side of the headset which is potentially one of the dumbest design features every invented. Google has not made the same mistake with Google Daydream View and has wisely included a handy remote for interacting with things in its VR world.
The remote itself is brilliant; its easy to use blind, features a wonderful touch-scrolling feature and is perfectly proportioned for extended use. The remote connects via Bluetooth but it will need a recharge every now and then. I’ve been using mine for two week’s and it is still going strong. I’ll update this review when the batteries run out. The remote has a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. It’s also very accurate and intuitive, reminding me a lot of a Nintendo Wii controller.
The remote – and headset – do not feature positional tracking either, so you don’t really get a sense of depth inside Daydream or its apps; it all feels kind of flat and one dimensional. Again, the VIVE and Oculus controllers have Google trumped in this regard, though I suspect this is something that could be added in via a software update at a later point (maybe…).
Google’s first foray into the VR space is decent, a mixed bag, sure, but a very solid effort that shows huge potential for growth and innovation in the future. As it stands, the content and quality of imagery just isn’t there at present but the arrival of developers in the space and 4K phones in 2017 could go a long way to solving this issue.
The key point of Daydream View is the price which at £79 is pretty much unprecedented at present. However, Daydream View is currently crippled by a lack of support – only Google’s Pixel phones work with it at present. This will change a lot in 2017 as the next run of Android phones start dropping, but for now this is a major problem for Google and its VR plans.
So is content. As I said earlier, everything feels very “beta” at the moment, which is to be expected – VR is very much in its infancy. Starting is always the hardest part, though, and I am confident Google, along with its legions of developers, will innovate and create something special with this VR platform. It’s just a question of how long this will take.
For now, the verdict is simple: Daydream VR is very much a work in progress.
As of November 22, Motorola has issued an official statement on its blog announcing that its Moto Z and Moto Z Force flagships will be updated globally to Android Nougat this week. As well as the usual slew of bugfixes, security tweaks, and optimisations, and of course adding all the cool Nougat features, Motorola revealed that the update would also add official support and compatibility for the Google Daydream View for both handsets. This will make the Moto Z and Moto Z Force the first third-party Android handsets to be officially compatible with the Daydream View and certified as such by Google. To date, the only phones compatible officially with the Daydream View have been Google's own Pixel and Pixel XL devices.
"Daydream offers an unprecedented opportunity to dive into a kaleidoscope of experiences. With Daydream, you can explore new worlds, attend a sporting event or concert, enjoy your own personal cinema and so much more."
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